Tag Archives: stew

In October I made a number of meals based on alcohol. I generally don’t drink a lot of alcohol or cook with it usually. Usually when cooking with alcohol it is wine or in desserts. I don’t like to drink wine so why would I cook with it?

This recipe is based on Sam Adams’ Pumpkin Ale, a beer that I would never drink but turned out wonderful as a base for hearty beef and barley stew. The broth of the stew ended up tasting like the gravy in Shepherd’s Pie. It was incredibly flavorful and filling.

I started with pre-cut stew meat from Safeway and chopped it into smaller pieces. I browned this with shallots and carrots in some olive oil. Then I added a bottle of Sam Adams’ Pumpkin Ale and a cup of vegetable stock. I brought this to a boil then added a half cup of pearled barley. I brought it down to a simmer and let it cook for about forty-five minutes or until the barley was completely tender.

I’ve posted this dish several times already which shows how popular it is at our house. It’s also something that is delicious, lots of leftovers, and not that expensive to make. This time around I was not pleased with the results. The kielbasa from Whole Foods is not as good as the kielbasa from Shopper’s Corner (or even Safeway in my opinion) and the parsnips were not ripe and watery. Part of what made the dish so good the first time I made it was the high quality kielbasa with a good amount of fat and spices, when you don’t have that then the dish loses its robust greasy, spicy goodness.